It’s no secret that the fashion world is heading towards technology. The way we shop, how we pick out our clothes and how we style our outfits. Many companies like
apply data science and engineering to put your wardrobe together for you. They use algorithms to understand their clients, predict their demands, and optimize operations.
Technology is advancing every day. In order to keep up with this thriving market, industries have to find ways to incorporate and automate the work to have a competitive edge and to keep up with ever so changing technology world.
In 2018, Reuters reported that the Spanish apparel retailer Zara was incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into its business strategy and supply chain as a way to keep up with and beat its competitors. Coincidence or not, the following year, Zara’s parent company Inditex posted strong profit growth.
According to a 2021 study by Juniper Research, 96% of surveyed retail executives plan to invest in AI in the near future. What’s even more interesting is that an NTT DATA and Oxford Economics survey found that 40% of executives think that AI is crucial to business success and that a failure to implement the technology will end up costing them their customers and employees, as well as hurt their bottom line.
So it comes as no surprise that an increasing number of fashion companies are turning to AI and machine learning for help with the process:
- AI-driven demand forecasting has been proven to reduce forecasting errors by up to 50%.
- “AI designers” can analyse popular styles and design elements, such as cut and fabric, as well as their past retail performance and popularity on social media, to create completely new designs from scratch.
- AI-enhanced garment manufacturing leads to improved efficiency and time-to-shelf due to automated quality control and defect detection.